Police shoot, wound gunman in downtown Vancouver

Vancouver police say they shot and wounded a gunman in downtown Vancouver early Thursday after he refused to put down his weapon.

The suspected gunman, Darryl E. Humphrey Jr., 21, of Portland was treated at a local hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening and later booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and first-degree assault.

The early-morning incident occurred as police were investigating reports of a fight outside a nightclub at 704 Main St. in Vancouver.

John Peters, 43, lives in an apartment near the nightclub and said he saw the scene unfold from his window. About 12:45 a.m., Peters called 911 after he heard yelling outside and looked to see about 25 people fighting in three or four different groups in front of the Q Nightclub. At the time, he told the dispatcher that no one appeared to have any weapons.

Shortly after that, he saw two men pull out pistols as they yelled at each other, Peters said.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said that officers responded to the disturbance calls within minutes and began talking to people involved in the fight. She also said that some officers conducted high-risk traffic stops for the vehicles reportedly carrying the armed individuals.

About 20 minutes later, as more people came out of the club, the fight heated up again, this time including about 50 people, Peters said.

“I hear someone yell, ‘He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun,’ ” Peters said. “Then a guy runs right on the corner, shoots one time, then backs up and shoots two more times.”

The man, whom Peters said he couldn’t describe well because it was so dark, had shot toward the large crowd.

“People (were) scattering like ants, taking off running in all directions,” he said.

Peters called 911 again after the first shot and said he was on the phone with a dispatcher when the other shots were fired. He then saw the shooter run south. The victim in the shooting, who sustained wounds to his foot, was found at the corner of East Seventh Street and Broadway. He refused treatment.

“I never did think I was in danger,” Peters said. “I was worried about my friends out there on the street. I live downtown, I work downtown … I know everyone down here.”

Officers reportedly heard the multiple gunshots and located the alleged gunman, Humphrey, who had traveled south on Main Street. When officers confronted Humphrey, he ignored police commands to drop his weapon, police said.

One Vancouver officer then fired at Humphrey, wounding him, according to police.

The Vancouver Fire Department was called to the scene at 1:25 a.m. to assist police. Detectives located the weapon believed to be involved in the altercation and spent a majority of the day processing the street block, using a three-dimension laser imager to capture a virtual image of the scene.

The Vancouver Police Department is investigating the shooting. Following standard procedure, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is leading the investigation because it was a Vancouver officer who shot the gunman.